At present, in 3D-HEVC, i.e., an extension framework of High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) for coding Three-Dimensional Video (3DV), the Simplified Depth Coding (SDC) and Range Constrained Bit Map (RCBM) based coding and decoding method are usually used to achieve efficient coding and decoding of depth information.
The SDC includes: after coding depth information of each view using a Depth Look-up Table (DLT), an encoder transmits, to a decoder, coded depth information and the corresponding DLT; the decoder decodes the DLT according to preset decoding formats, and decodes coded depth information of the view using the DLT. In addition, the RCBM based coding and decoding method includes: a minimum and maximum in the DLT are coded in a bitstream, and a bit map is used to identify whether depth values of views between the minimum and the maximum are within the DLT. However, the abovementioned two methods for coding and decoding depth information lead to too much overhead in terms of coding information, which thus occupy plenty of transmission resources, affects transmission efficiency and affects coding and decoding efficiency.